>> guest: little brown. i don't know what they called it, the gutlessness. but it worked out in the end. it worked out better in the end. david rosenthal was the publisher that i wanted. c-span: what makes him so special? >> guest: he has worked with some of my idols, he has worked with richard ben cramer, he had what it takes. his fingerprints are a are on many of these nonfiction works. and it happens to be the publisher of my favorite books. c-span: what is the farthest that you went about anybody or anything that makes this important? >> guest: my depiction would be of david petraeus, someone who is widely regarded as the hero in the iraq war. also a hero in afghanistan, he didn't pull off as well as he did. and i offer a very different picture for what one is accustomed to with david petraeus. c-span: like what? >> guest: quoted some of his colleagues talking about him. with david petraeus, there is a lot of and be involved in this as well. whenever general david petraeus shows up and takes over the assignment, he makes everyone before him look like a t